England have never successfully chased a target of such magnitude to win a Twenty20 international and they certainly did not chase this one. They foundered from the start under the lights at Seddon Park, enabling New Zealand to inflict a 55-run trouncing. After all the talk of small boundaries, for England they seemed to be expanding by the moment.

The ICC rankings system certainly knows how to lose faith with a side after a bad night's cricket. England, third at the start of the night, were sixth by the end of it. T20 is a volatile business. The series will be settled in Wellington on Friday.

Brendon McCullum had carried the fight for New Zealand, striking 74 from 38 balls and manfully thrusting a daunting total into English faces after they had gained control in mid-innings. England conceded 38 off the last two overs, Stuart Broad and Jade Dernbach the bowlers to suffer, and even though Dernbach silenced McCullum's belligerence at deep cover on the penultimate ball of the innings, England had nothing to show for some tigerish fielding.

Just as striking was the degree to which New Zealand's fast bowlers outdid their England counterparts. They found movement under the lights never imagined by England earlier in the innings as they preferred the back-of-a-length approach that had served them so well in the opening T20I in Auckland.

England, victors in the opening T20I in Auckland when they batted first and made their highest total in this format, opted to chase when Stuart Broad won the toss on a dry, lightly cloudy evening in Hamilton. "Probably should have batted first," Broad accepted.

Ian Butler stood out with an impeccable spell of 2 for 9 in four overs as England's innings never found any impetus. Butler has had some discouraging times in a career and almost abandoned New Zealand cricket to play county cricket in England but he has had a good season with Otago Volts and this was a night that told of a bowler with appetite restored. James Franklin bowled well, but his four-for largely fell upon him.

England never recovered from losing three wickets for 24 by the fifth over. Alex Hales was bowled by Mitchell McClenaghan as he tried to work to leg, Luke Wright edged his sighter to gully, and Jonny Bairstow, cramped as he pulled Butler, got it no further than short-fine leg. When Michael Lumb was bowled off his pads, charging Nathan McCullum's off spin, England limped to the mid-point at 47 for 4.

It all left Morgan facing circumstances that he did not naturally relish, a batsman with too much time on his hands. Morgan likes games to be set up for him, but this one felt more like a set up favoured in American gangster movies.

It is not often that Morgan seems overpowered by a situation, but it was the case here. He reached 13 from 22 before he fell to Butler. He needed good fortune to get that far, surviving a stumping chance - a McCullum brotherly combination that went amiss - and was badly dropped off Butler at deep midwicket when Hamish Rutherford battered one to the floor off his chest.

By the time Samit Patel was run out by yards, failing to negotiate a single to Trent Boult who hit direct from mid off, England's innings had entered the realms of black comedy. The only consolation came from Jos Buttler's maiden T20I fifty. Buttler has been favoured with the gloves ahead of Bairstow as a statement that England wish to keep him in the side. His reputation is built on short, explosive innings, and his 54 from 30 balls in a hopeless task did him no harm.

After the somewhat unnatural six-hitting extravaganza in Eden Park, Seddon Park had a more satisfying cricketing feel. It is another compact ground, with straight boundaries around 65m, but a few extra metres and a more logical shape provided a more gratifying setting for another packed house. Even so, after England gave the first over to the offspinner, James Tredwell, it took all of four balls before Martin Guptill smashed him for six into the sightscreen. There were ten sixes in all for New Zealand, five of them to McCullum, their jaw-jutting captain. England, so supreme in Auckland, managed two in reply.

Finn had placed a marker a few paces from the stumps in an effort to control his occasional habit of colliding with them. Stay left of that, and you will be okay, seemed to be the message. His thoughts soon strayed elsewhere as Rutherford hauled him into the sponsors' area and almost felled a couple of stilt walkers.

New Zealand rattled along at around ten an over from the outset. Jade Dernbach was wearing a strapping on his heavily-tattooed left arm after being accidentally spiked in practice, presumably denying onlookers the chance to read several ancient Tibetan dictums.

Wright, who looks too perky to sit down in a tattoo parlour, came up trumps for the second successive match, his medium pace bringing 2 for 24 to follow his 2 for 29 in Auckland. He arrested an opening stand of 75 in 8.2 overs when Rutherford tried to fiddle one to third man and was caught at the wicket. There was the wicket of Ross Taylor, too, who hauled him to Bairstow at deep midwicket. Acclaimed as the returning hero since ending his self-imposed exile, Taylor has so far amassed more ovations than runs.

When Dernbach's slower balls began to make an impact - Colin Munro hauling to Bairstow at deep midwicket and Grant Elliott having his bails trimmed by a back-of-the-hand delivery, the judder in New Zealand's innings had become pronounced. But it was nothing like the judder England were about to experience.

Well played, New Zealand. Both Rutherford & McClenaghan look like outstanding prospects (on this evidence, Rutherford, with an accompanying first-class average of 42, should *definitely* be given a chance to cement a place at the top of the Kiwis' brittle Test batting order), while it was heartening to see those old warhorses McCullum, Butler & Franklin prove that they still have plenty left in the tank. From a purely cricketing perspective, this was an excellent result, as there's now all to play for at Wellington.

It's not *all* doom & gloom for the tourists, either. Even from this calamitous defeat, two plusses emerged for England: due to the early fall of wickets, Jos Buttler was finally given an extended window of opportunity via which to showcase his outrageously inventive talents, while Luke Wright again bowled with commendable guile & efficiency.

Let's hope Wellington's a humdinger. It's all set up beautifully.

A_Vacant_Slip
on February 15, 2013, 8:21 GMT

Fast track bully. In that case India are no better than England at t20 in India. So if England's bench strength is poor then so is Indias. And this only in game in India. Unfortunately India also play away from their home from time to time. I notice that you won't talk about India away record. Now why is that fast track bull?

Fast_Track_Bully
on February 15, 2013, 7:20 GMT

@A_Vacant_Slip. Funny to see your explanation. 2012 India played 3 matches against Eng and India won 2 of them. You are trying to hide that 90 run victory in T20 WC! OK, in that case, England lost 29 out of 45 ODI matches in India and won only 13 out of 55 tests in India. Do you have anything to say??

A_Vacant_Slip
on February 14, 2013, 19:01 GMT

@fast track bully. In the last 3 t20 game played in India between India and England the score is England 2 India 1. I say played in India because as everyone know - the only game of cricket that count is one played in India so I won't count any game other than one played in India. Now, let me explain this to you - in games of t20 played in India England lead 2-1. So fast track bully it is India, not England who have the weak bench strength. If you want talk about any game cricket in any format played by India but outside of India then we can talk about that if you like. But it would be very short conversation which would include the word lost quite a few times.

Fast_Track_Bully
on February 14, 2013, 10:42 GMT

England do not have bench strength and thats proved yet again!

The_bowlers_Holding
on February 14, 2013, 2:51 GMT

Bring_Back_Warnie on (February 12, 2013, 15:32 GMT) I agree with what you say about Bird, to me of the new batch of Aussie quicks he looks the business, the top order of the batting and the loss of Huss is the big differnce to me. RandyUK as original and amusing as ever, GSinge7 have you always been obsessed with England or is it since 2011, I am honestly curious as to your infatuation with good ole England it humors me.

Front-Foot-Lunge
on February 13, 2013, 20:17 GMT

With such an incredible depth of squad, England have talent knocking on the door for all positions. If one thinks back to the whitewash they gave Australia last year, England have a absolute quality batting line up that pummels any opposition on it's day. T20 cricket is a good place to tweak things in a team, whilst giving fresh talent a chance. England should use the talented Jos Buttler higher up the order, he is an incredible bat.

RandyOZ
on February 13, 2013, 14:09 GMT

With the Lions losing for a third time against Victoria, there is no depth so England better hope no one goes down.

dabhand
on February 13, 2013, 12:51 GMT

@Arshad Siddiqui - quite right - but there are plenty of fools on here - those who predicted England would be whitewashed in the series before this and those like RandyOz who have incredibly selective memories (74 ALL OUT) and especially those who just don't understand T20 is incredibly unpredictable.

Great result for the Kiwis, but in the grand scheme of cricket not a particularly meaningful result for either team.

Energetic.
on February 13, 2013, 11:29 GMT

Ranking tables can be a bit of a joke, just look at the left hand side of the column and see how unevenly distributed the matches are so really they don't tell the whole story whether we like it or not :)

on February 12, 2013, 10:36 GMT

Well played, New Zealand. Both Rutherford & McClenaghan look like outstanding prospects (on this evidence, Rutherford, with an accompanying first-class average of 42, should *definitely* be given a chance to cement a place at the top of the Kiwis' brittle Test batting order), while it was heartening to see those old warhorses McCullum, Butler & Franklin prove that they still have plenty left in the tank. From a purely cricketing perspective, this was an excellent result, as there's now all to play for at Wellington.

It's not *all* doom & gloom for the tourists, either. Even from this calamitous defeat, two plusses emerged for England: due to the early fall of wickets, Jos Buttler was finally given an extended window of opportunity via which to showcase his outrageously inventive talents, while Luke Wright again bowled with commendable guile & efficiency.

Let's hope Wellington's a humdinger. It's all set up beautifully.

A_Vacant_Slip
on February 15, 2013, 8:21 GMT

Fast track bully. In that case India are no better than England at t20 in India. So if England's bench strength is poor then so is Indias. And this only in game in India. Unfortunately India also play away from their home from time to time. I notice that you won't talk about India away record. Now why is that fast track bull?

Fast_Track_Bully
on February 15, 2013, 7:20 GMT

@A_Vacant_Slip. Funny to see your explanation. 2012 India played 3 matches against Eng and India won 2 of them. You are trying to hide that 90 run victory in T20 WC! OK, in that case, England lost 29 out of 45 ODI matches in India and won only 13 out of 55 tests in India. Do you have anything to say??

A_Vacant_Slip
on February 14, 2013, 19:01 GMT

@fast track bully. In the last 3 t20 game played in India between India and England the score is England 2 India 1. I say played in India because as everyone know - the only game of cricket that count is one played in India so I won't count any game other than one played in India. Now, let me explain this to you - in games of t20 played in India England lead 2-1. So fast track bully it is India, not England who have the weak bench strength. If you want talk about any game cricket in any format played by India but outside of India then we can talk about that if you like. But it would be very short conversation which would include the word lost quite a few times.

Fast_Track_Bully
on February 14, 2013, 10:42 GMT

England do not have bench strength and thats proved yet again!

The_bowlers_Holding
on February 14, 2013, 2:51 GMT

Bring_Back_Warnie on (February 12, 2013, 15:32 GMT) I agree with what you say about Bird, to me of the new batch of Aussie quicks he looks the business, the top order of the batting and the loss of Huss is the big differnce to me. RandyUK as original and amusing as ever, GSinge7 have you always been obsessed with England or is it since 2011, I am honestly curious as to your infatuation with good ole England it humors me.

Front-Foot-Lunge
on February 13, 2013, 20:17 GMT

With such an incredible depth of squad, England have talent knocking on the door for all positions. If one thinks back to the whitewash they gave Australia last year, England have a absolute quality batting line up that pummels any opposition on it's day. T20 cricket is a good place to tweak things in a team, whilst giving fresh talent a chance. England should use the talented Jos Buttler higher up the order, he is an incredible bat.

RandyOZ
on February 13, 2013, 14:09 GMT

With the Lions losing for a third time against Victoria, there is no depth so England better hope no one goes down.

dabhand
on February 13, 2013, 12:51 GMT

@Arshad Siddiqui - quite right - but there are plenty of fools on here - those who predicted England would be whitewashed in the series before this and those like RandyOz who have incredibly selective memories (74 ALL OUT) and especially those who just don't understand T20 is incredibly unpredictable.

Great result for the Kiwis, but in the grand scheme of cricket not a particularly meaningful result for either team.

Energetic.
on February 13, 2013, 11:29 GMT

Ranking tables can be a bit of a joke, just look at the left hand side of the column and see how unevenly distributed the matches are so really they don't tell the whole story whether we like it or not :)

shortsillypoint
on February 13, 2013, 9:37 GMT

Bamber - Scotty Styris is commentating and playing the world circuit these days - organising himself for the future - NZ cricket don't pay enough it seems. Not agism or "Coldplay" would be retired long ago.

JG2704
on February 13, 2013, 8:33 GMT

@kiwicricketnut on (February 13, 2013, 3:58 GMT) From an England fan - re NZ fielding a tea, with 5 specialist bowlers , I presume you're talking shorter formats here. If so , I'd disagree. With the exception of Mcclenaghan who has impressed every time I've seen him your main bowlers went for plenty in your last game and Franklin took 3 for 15 at good economy in this game - even if 2 were against lower order and the other against a player going for broke. I think - as someone else said before - T20 is a game where decent bits and pieces players are a plus. I think your side misses DV - who often gives the bowling more control and can certainly hold a bat. Anyway congrats on the win. Look forward to Friday

kiwicricketnut
on February 13, 2013, 3:58 GMT

No need to bag england here the english supporters do a fine job of that themselves. The newzealand bowlers were amazing and on the evidence of that performance we should use these 5 bowlers for every t20 game from now on barring injury, n. Mccullum, southee, butler, boult, mcclenaghan. No more part timers like ellis, elliot or even franklin dishing up gimmies for 12- 20 an over stick with these guys and we should restrict teams to gettable totals

mikey76
on February 13, 2013, 1:28 GMT

Haha! Mr Oz, you've kinda forgotten your boys lost a test match to lowly NZ in your own back yard, and you've just been bowled out for 240 by the Indian 2nd XI girls blind school. There is only one team on the slide and it ain't us!

zenboomerang
on February 13, 2013, 1:10 GMT

Its funny how supporters quickly use excuses after a loss... atm in T20 rankings: Eng - 6th, Oz - 7th & NZ -8th so none of us have much to brag about... At its best it is a fickle format & is all about being a spectacle...

Personally I'd prefer a T30 format in 4 quarters - 15 overs a quarter, 5 min break to change batting/fielding teams in the 1st & 3rd quarter & get fluids, with a slightly longer break at half time... This reduces the batting first issue & also wet weather - with teams having to bat min 20 overs to get a result...

Jayzuz
on February 13, 2013, 0:49 GMT

Interesting that they are playing the T20s first. Can't remember that ever happening before. Usually they are an afterthought (e.g. one tacked onto the end of the WI tour to Australia). And who wrote that they can't see NZ losing again? You obviously don't get T20 cricket.

on February 13, 2013, 0:43 GMT

only a fool can write a team like blackcaps off... they are a good bunch of talented cricketers.. all they need is bit of self belief and consistency and they could be soon beating top teams regularly... players like guptill,taylor, mccullum, ryder, williamson, southy, mcclenaghan, munro, rutherford are dangerous in limited overs... would be a great T20 and ODI series...

on February 12, 2013, 22:30 GMT

@RandyOZ

England are ranked higher than Australia in all three formats of the game, and Nz is only 1 win behind you in the t20i rankings, All things considered it looks like australia are the real minnows compared to england.

GrindAR
on February 12, 2013, 22:24 GMT

Disciplined display by NZ. When they execute well, they can beat anybody outright :-)

JG2704
on February 12, 2013, 21:44 GMT

@yorkshirematt (11:04) TBH - It wasn't a collapse so much - in fact the opposite. From being 3 and then 4 wickets down so early and at a poor run rate it was a respectable total in the end - only when you take the start into consideration mind

@TheBigBoodha (11:31) Broad was bad today but he went at 6 an over in the previous game and was the best bowler we had in the 2nd warm up game

@ R_U_4_REAL_NICK (13:25) Broad had a poor game but are there T20/ODI bowlers (esp pacers) who are crying out to be picked and would Dernbach not go before Broad?

@ landl47(13:59 re Wright , he hit a clean crisp shot but straight to a fielder. In the only ball he faced would have gone for 4 a foot or so either side of the fielder. He felt he had to get away straight away after an awful start and big total ahead of him. It was still a crisper hit than most of the shots the top order scored runs with

JG2704
on February 12, 2013, 21:39 GMT

@ BRUTALANALYST on (February 12, 2013, 8:42 GMT) I take it you either didn't see the 1st game or forgot that Wright was hitting the ball better than anyone in that game. Jos is a superb talent and is in great form but let's not get carried away.
I would generally agree with you on Jos coming in too late but I think they felt Jonny might be better to go in a rebuild the inns. Quite often there is one or maybe 2 batsmen who struggle to get the ball away but this time none of our top 5 did anything which was the complete opposite of the previous game. To be fair to them I think there was a bit more in the pitch for the bowlers when they were at the crease.
Re Broad - he was very good in the last game as was Jonny and I think Lumb did ok too.

hhillbumper
on February 12, 2013, 20:41 GMT

it was a bad day at the office for England.The ball did a bit but they just did not look in it.All teams have bad days and the Kiwis did beat South Africa so they are hardly poor at this game.

subbass
on February 12, 2013, 18:20 GMT

Surprised that both skippers would have bowled, as it was obvious that the ball did more later on. Was a poor game really as when a side has no chance by the 7th over it is just 13 overs of pointless cricket. At least in the last game NZ fought a bit better and made a game of it to some point. Oh well, least we don't have a dead rubber ! But yeah at least with 50 over cricket a side can recover from early wickets and rebuild chasing a good score is still gettable when you have more time as a batter.

Surajdon9
on February 12, 2013, 18:15 GMT

Undoubtedly a huge improvement from the first Twenty20 in Auckland, the BLACKCAPS now head to Wellington for the decider on Friday night. You can be sure that England will fight back hard and be equally sure the BLACKCAPS will be desperate to carry over the momentum from tonight's game.

salman_0902
on February 12, 2013, 16:29 GMT

Great to see New Zealand winning. Go N.Z, Go. from Pakistan

Lara4life501
on February 12, 2013, 15:42 GMT

Hopeless England fail again...cue the excuses from Front_foot-Lunge watch how quickly this series goes from 'relevant' to 'Pointless' now England have lost...Only when they lead in a series does the series actually matter

ozziespirit
on February 12, 2013, 15:32 GMT

For Aus fans like myself, I enjoy watching England lose, but after the whitewash they gave us last year still fresh, I wouldn't write off this team just yet. When it comes to tests, I wouldn't claim Australia have anything on England, but in players like Maxwell and Bird we will challenge you this Ashes, mark my words.

RandyOZ
on February 12, 2013, 15:23 GMT

The inevitable slide continues for England, now losing to the lowly New Zealand. Thank you McCullum for lighting up this epic battle of the minnows.

Bamber
on February 12, 2013, 15:00 GMT

PS Why no Scott Styris in the NZ T20 team?? having been at Hove to see his phenomenal 37 ball hundred last summer, I'm gob-smacked he isn't in the squad. Looks like ageism to me; isn't that illegal??!!

on February 12, 2013, 14:54 GMT

jplterrors even your statement is a bit high and mighty. England are a great test side , NZ are worse than the WI in both T20 , ODI and tests at the moment which is saying something. As a kiwi fan I find your comments amusing. ODI series win ould be awesome and one test win if we can get it.

Bamber
on February 12, 2013, 14:40 GMT

landl47 on (February 12, 2013, 13:59 GMT): ".. even then Wright batted and Buttler kept wicket badly." JB wasn't great but I do think it's harsh on Wrighty; he's an aggressive player, chasing a challenging total so had to look to dominate early. He made 1 mistake and got punished. On another day he could have gone on. IMO he's improved dramatically as a player and could challenge for an ODI spot. Dernbach worries me - he's got pace and variations but good batsmen take him for too many runs. It feels like he SHOULD be better than he actually is!
Overall a diappointing Eng performance, let's hope Wellington brings out the best in both teams and we have a cracking T20 series finale before the proper cricket starts!

BRUTALANALYST
on February 12, 2013, 14:17 GMT

Patel has done more for England than Bairstow and a couple of others for example he saved England a couple of times in India and also during the T20 world cup when everyone else got skittled

landl47
on February 12, 2013, 13:59 GMT

Well played NZ. Even as an England fan I am happy when NZ wins. The little country that could! Great result and all to play for in the final match.

As for England, Broad was as bad in this match as he had been good in the first. Wrong decision on the toss, wrong plan for the bowlers (and the secret of good captaincy is to change things when they are going awry- for how to do this, see Clarke, Michael) and his own bowling was awful. Only Luke Wright bowled well and only Buttler batted well, and even then Wright batted and Buttler kept wicket badly.

Is it really that big a surprise that the record holder for the highest score in T20 internationals tore apart a bowling attack that consists of the likes of Dernbach, and Broad who bowls too much short-pitched garbage and somehow got away with it last game? Broad has to go, not only as captain but as a bowler too. His spot is being wasted and ruining chances for other better bowlers.

liz1558
on February 12, 2013, 13:15 GMT

So you bat first in the last game and annihilate the opposittion attack; your batsmen are looking for another opportunity to punish the same bowlers, and the opposition bowlers want some relief. You must win the toss and ram home your advantage. You win the toss! No need to consult Mike Brierley on this one. Botham, Boycott, Chris Cowdrey, Terry, Bligh, Pugwash and Stuart Broad. All men who ought not have been made captains of England.

yorkshire-86
on February 12, 2013, 13:05 GMT

Yet again England think they can win games only using ten men. Just what does Samit Patel bring to the team?

HordGobbler
on February 12, 2013, 12:47 GMT

Didn't see the game but judging by the scorecard and reading some of the comments here it seems it was a pretty comprehensive victory by New Zealand. Good for McCullum and co.

As for England, I hope Root comes in for the next T20...Patel seems the likely exclusion. Just a better selection choice considering the conditions and Root's form.
Also, it's good to Buttler getting more runs under his belt.

bobbo2
on February 12, 2013, 12:28 GMT

Great win NZ. During the post match interview McCullum said he would have bowled first too. Surely both captains have learnt by now that on a road you bat first. Cannot understand why either team chose to bowl first in this series so far.

jplterrors
on February 12, 2013, 12:26 GMT

No surprises eng would get smashed here when they are up against the best top4 in T20 cricket when the best allrounder in the world Frankie moves to 4. Cant see NZ losing a game from here for the rest of the tour.

on February 12, 2013, 12:18 GMT

Guptil opening in shorter forms is fine and shows like the rest of the new zeland batsmen that they are more suited to the shorter formats. The New Zealand batting line is naturally aggressive (especially Brendon mccullum) Ross Taylor in t20 is a limited stroke player as all his big shots go on the leg side between mid on and backward square leg. For test matches if guptil plays he needs to bat in the middle order as his technique gets found out too often by quality fast bowlers. Against South Africa guptil looked like he was batting with a stick of celery. However guptil is one of the best stroke platers down the ground amongst current international players.

on February 12, 2013, 12:09 GMT

The bowling department in the 20 20 format is their biggest problem. England have no superstar t20 bowler like a malinga or a narine. But they do have Buffett bowlers such as dernbach and Patel. I think dernbach needs to be dropped as he conceads too many runs Barstow is batting to high at number 4. Lumb is a good player but his 6 hitting strokes especially against the spinners is restricted to straight down the ground( mostly leg side if the side screen) to mid wicket. I have never seen lumb his a 6 over cover Etc against a spinner especially a right arm off spinner. Tredwells batting has no muscle to clear the ropes and tends to squirt balls for singles and occaisional boundariesshould think about batting right handed as be is naturally right handed.

Selassie-I
on February 12, 2013, 11:49 GMT

Strange decision to bat 2nd there broady? Again it makes me wonder about his captaincy credentials.. he never striked me as the most astute player in the team, but i guess we can't see/hear most of what goes on.

CricketingStargazer
on February 12, 2013, 11:46 GMT

Just goes to show how daft some of the comments were after the first T20. All sides are minnows here because T20 is THE greatest leveller in cricket. Superman one day and looking like a proper charlie the next...

shortsillypoint
on February 12, 2013, 11:46 GMT

Agree with BA - Franklin @ 4 as he farmed the strike to inform Baz first ball, while Elliot, Taylor and Munro failed to see the obvious. Later Franklin is also capable of playing the innings needed by the team.

While Baz was great it was the openers that set it up for NZ. Swing bowling is essential in NZ conditions too.

jmcilhinney
on February 12, 2013, 11:45 GMT

I didn't see the NZ innings so I don't know what proportion was good batting and what proportion poor bowling but I did see the England innings and no one other than Buttler looked remotely comfortable against some good bowling and some assistance from the conditions. In hindsight it was a mistake to bowl first but, as the commentators said, that would not have been Broad's choice alone and McCullum said he would have bowled too. Regardless of anything else, it's just remarkable how sketchy every England batsman looked. They are still a very inconsistent team who can win their fair share but still lose big far too often. T20 is obviously very volatile but it wasn't really that they lost wickets trying hit out, although scoreboard pressure would have played its part. I'm not sure what conditions will be like for the third game but you'd think that whoever wins the toss will be batting first, surely.

Glenn10
on February 12, 2013, 11:36 GMT

Great stuff.
One of NZ's best ever T20 wins, not that there's been allot of wins to compare this with.
Bowling Allrounder Butler is putting his hand up for Test cricket along with McClenaghan who once again was impressive. Rutherford is the other and surely he's in line for a test debut. Also, why can't Nathan McCullum be picked? He can turn the ball and can bat? No other spinners are putting their hands up?
If they pick the right test team, we will be competitive. I think based on current form Bracewell and Wagner should be playing Plunket shield come March.
The lineup could now look like: Rutherford, B. McCullum, Williamson, Taylor, Brownlie, Watling, N. McCullum, Butler, Southee, Boult, McClenaghan.
Carrying five bowlers of which two bat well is a must to getting 20 wickets.
I was also a bit amused by the negative comments after the first game regarding Dernbach. All from English fans I believe? - Gee this guy impresses me. He has serious pace, a good slow ball and a temper?

TheBigBoodha
on February 12, 2013, 11:31 GMT

@ whofriggincares, the T20 rankings are pointless. Any team could beat any other on any given day. All it takes is for one batsman to go berserk, or alternatively, for a team to give Stewart Broad a bowl. :-)

Damo_s
on February 12, 2013, 11:30 GMT

Well Played NZ. England had a not so good day today, which happens. NZ on the other hand played well and their talisman made a good innings.
I agree with the comments about Broad. He should never have been made captain and Im still not convinced about his bowling despite his 4 for in the 1st.

TheBigBoodha
on February 12, 2013, 11:28 GMT

Agree with Meety. Not much of a fan of T20s. I went and saw my first T20 international a few weeks ago, AUS vs SL in Sydney. I really wasn't impressed. Basically the difference between the two teams was two slash/mishits by a SL batter that went to the boundary behind the keeper in the 13th over. The next game was decided on the last ball. Now we have England who were simply smashing in the first game, then simply smashed in the second. Much prefer ODIs and tests, to be honest. T20 is fine for provincial stuff - IPL, Big Bash and so on. BTW, I like Stuart Broad as a bowler. I want to face him. Please!

Dzubelyu
on February 12, 2013, 11:27 GMT

It's good to see Guptill and McCullum in some kind of form. Let's hope they can carry it through to the longer forms. Looking forward to more of Rutherford. Classy act that one. It was a good move picking up Butler and Elliott for Ellis and Hira, and in the end, it made the difference. Elliott didn't have a good game at all, but one bad game doesn't mean anything, especially in a T20, and I hope to see much more of him.

yorkshirematt
on February 12, 2013, 11:04 GMT

What on earth happened there? I had to double check that they weren't still playing in India with a collapse like that

on February 12, 2013, 10:52 GMT

@JG2704... As a few posters have already commented, it's an inexperienced and over-confident captain. I'm still at a loss to understand why on earth he was gievn the captaincy in the first place.. But I guess if you're one of the selectors' golden boys... no more need be said..

QingdaoXI
on February 12, 2013, 10:43 GMT

I am Indian and will like to ask you why ECB continues with Broad that o as a captain, frankly speaking at present he doesnt deserve place in any format, you have more better bowlers than him give them chance too. Eoin Morgan in one-off match aganist Ireland and 2 T-20 aganist India proved that he is better capatain than Broad. I personally think Morgan should be Captain in t-20 and V.C in ODI and what about that boy, Joe Root, he did well in India in adverse conditions and he is kept out of the team in a conditions similar to England. Do i will see another Ajinkya Rahane who played very well in his first 2 series and had to wait for year and half for the next by sitting on bench and loosing his form. Let Joe play in place of not so good Lumb or overhyped Patel. Happy to see Nz winning, these days it is very rarely, Wish best luck for both teams for the grand finale.

Meety
on February 12, 2013, 10:40 GMT

Surprise, surprise, reverse hammerings! Who would of guessed that Eng smash NZ one game then get flogged a few days later. This is why T20s should not be internationals. It is a complete lottery, back the queries as to why on Earth Broad would bowl first?

on February 12, 2013, 10:34 GMT

See the Pom bashers are out in force again. They weren't so vocal a few nights ago. Well played NZ, good win. England need to pull their socks up. T20 is the most unpredictable - and IMO least satisfying - form of the game. But it has to be taken seriously and England are simply too inconsistent. A bit too early for NZ fans to be predicting an ODI and Test series thrashing of England though.

NZ are a good team in the shorter formats, but their performance declines in proportion to the length of the game. They were woeful in SA against tough opposition. McCullum does not have the temperament to be a high quality test batsman.

satishchandar
on February 12, 2013, 10:19 GMT

Well.. Short format of Cricket in NZ especially T20 can be very tempting for visiting teams. You will get some very short boundaries but at the same time, if you lose wickets in clusters, you won't find a way to come out of it. It happened when India toured last time. Sehwag hit 3 6's in first 3 balls and Yusuf scored four in a row in a over but still, the score was just 162 which was chased as a cakewalk by NZ. In between they lost wickets in clusters and one quiet over will put you off the seat and you might even end up with no big hitters in kitty in last few. It happened for NZ last game and almost today except for Baz stayed till end. Just try to smack it without losing wickets in clusters like England did in last game.

electric_loco_WAP4
on February 12, 2013, 10:09 GMT

Goo New Zealand!!.... now that's a performance. Got to continue in the same vein and land the final K/O punch in game3 and seal the t20 series .Next the ODIs...and looking to see a clinical decimation of a bog avg. Eng side to back up their ODI series thrashing in Ind...after what NZ did to the Saffers the fate of Eng is as good sealed as they- Eng- are way below class of likes of Aus and SA - the 2 top sides in the world....Hope the Kiwis take the momentum to the Tests and punch out a win or 2 ....I wul'd love to see NZ do a Pak on Eng ...3-0!!... don't think NZ are in a state to take out anything other than a 1-1 draw in the TS . Hope they punch out a win as they have done a few times last year .... All the best ...NZ!!

on February 12, 2013, 10:08 GMT

Having created their own ideal template for T20 success on flat tracks at Auckland - bat first, bat deep, blast away from Ball One, set an imposing total, then bowl sensibly & economically while the opposition implode - England mystifyingly binned that template at Hamilton, thus gifting the Kiwis a powerful momentum boost for the decider at Wellington that may well prove decisive. Even at this relatively early stage in Stuart Broad's captaincy career, it's pretty clear, I'm afraid - just as it was during the T20 World Cup - that he simply doesn't possess either the cricketing brainpower, the plain common sense or the lead-by-example derring-do required to become an effective international captain.

What will the England hierarchy do about this glaringly obvious deficiency? Absolutely nothing, of course, as Continuity is the ECB's current mantra, even if that means denying Eoin Morgan, an infinitely superior leader in every respect (as he proved in India), the captaincy.

on February 12, 2013, 9:59 GMT

Last two games showed how ridiculous it is to compare 20/20 to Test Match or even 50 over cricket.

England won on Sat on a ridiculous ground with silly boundaries, which in effect came down to a competition to which team could score the most 6s with defensive shots.

Then tonight, NZ played very well, but when England batted under lights on a cold Kiwi night (summer ending here now), the ball swung from the outset, meaning pretty much 2 deliveries in you saw it was very unlikely England would chase the target.

Credit to NZ bowlers though, the opening attack were outstanding, they moved the ball off in the air, and pitched it up to make it move. Lumb and Hales aren't in great form - they're not timing the ball well - so as soon as the ball started to swing, they were doomed...

gnanzcupid
on February 12, 2013, 9:59 GMT

A defeat by 55 runs is something v big in a t20 game.Have to say that the KIWIS crushed the POMS

gnanzcupid
on February 12, 2013, 9:57 GMT

again NZ have proved that they are a decent team.

on February 12, 2013, 9:55 GMT

NZ has showed in SA that they r too good a side in shorter format to ignore,england has to work out of their skin if they hope to win the T20 and ODI series..in test series though Eng will win easily

fasih123
on February 12, 2013, 9:54 GMT

i cant understand why Woakes isnt playing

RednWhiteArmy
on February 12, 2013, 9:52 GMT

Fair play to NZ. You were better today. See aussies, NZ can beat us, why cant you? haaaa

Front-Foot_lunge
on February 12, 2013, 9:44 GMT

Wow. I guess this wake-up call might be a lesson to the hubris of many fellow England supporters. This format is a lottery and perhaps the hyperbole surrounding some players needs to be turned down a bit. England fans, I am sorry to say, are generally not regarded in high esteem among other cricketing countries, partly because one day their talking themselves up,the next their struggling against the 8th ranked team.

gsingh7
on February 12, 2013, 9:41 GMT

good luck to nz in final t20 . just smash the poms and take series 2-1 , english team brought to ground with humbling loss. maccullum and franklin, what a player, both of them

Munkeymomo
on February 12, 2013, 9:33 GMT

Well played NZ, that McCullum innings was exciting. And they bowled very tidily. Good to see Jos scoring big, yet again. NZ outplayed us in this one 100%, good comeback from the first game.

@whofriggincares: Haha. I've never seen someone so poor, so vocal. He must have a terrible strike-rate (wickets-per-sledge).

whofriggincares
on February 12, 2013, 9:25 GMT

Wow now that is a belting , by the 8th ranked team as well. I guess that is the ups and downs of this format. What happened to the 11 guys that can hit sixes ? Only 2 sixes in the entire innings! The pitch must have changed dramatically between innings,did the groundsmen move the rope back further? Or perhaps the kiwis just outplayed these 11 supermen? All jokes aside these 2 games sum up T/20 , one outstanding innings (McCullum) and then a bowling unit working brilliantly together and even a strong side can be made to look weak by a lowly ranked side. cant wait for the excuses from @FFL and @rednwhite. One can only hope the kiwis (who we know have been underachieving in regards to the natural talent they have) can hand out one or two test thrashings to make the already poor recent test record of England look even worse.

on February 12, 2013, 9:25 GMT

TG we can hold our heads up! Sunday was embarrassing! McCullum finally showed the class we used to see of him. Makes for an interesting finish and lead in to the one-dayers. Good general performance all round ma bois. Keep it up.

BRUTALANALYST
on February 12, 2013, 9:23 GMT

I don't understand why Stuart Broad is captain ? he instills neither confidence or maturity in the side, England should have Butler batting higher and give Morgan the captaincy. Bairstow Lumb and Broad should not be in the side.

BRUTALANALYST
on February 12, 2013, 9:10 GMT

New Zaelanads new left arm bowlers look very promising they should have Franklin batting higher tho he's wasted coming in with 1 or 2 overs to go he's far more dangerous than Elliot.

btglynn
on February 12, 2013, 9:08 GMT

T20 really is a bore though. Just how many decent games do you get? Batters just slogging across the line. The authorities are flogging it to death.
I suppose it appeals to the crickeet ignorant maasses to a degree and its ok in countries like Oz thaat have a decent climate and people can rock up after work , have a few beers and watch a few sixes go over midwicket. But on a cold June night in Derby , watching 140 being run down in the drizzle and murk? Whats the point/ Bit of income I suppose.

BRUTALANALYST
on February 12, 2013, 8:42 GMT

Jos Butler is the only guy in this 11 with any world class potential due to his clean hitting and consistently which the rest of the top 5 don't have. he is also still batting to low for me. Hales has potential but comes off once every 10 games, Bairstow is terrible he will never be good enough for this level I can just see it in his eyes he doesn't have it fills me with no confidence I'd never back him.

JG2704
on February 12, 2013, 8:26 GMT

We (England) look absolutely stuffed in this one. Well batted NZ (in particular BM) and well bowled so far.
One question I would like to put out there.

WHY would a captain choose to bowl first on a beautiful batting surface after coming off a big score when batting first in the previous game?

To me , unless you excel in chasing totals (which England don't) or conditions look good for bowling 1st (as in many of the women's WC game but not here) surely you bat 1st.

BRUTALANALYST
on February 12, 2013, 8:24 GMT

Lumb cannot hit a clean ball or use a straight blade everything he tries to drag across leg or cut really terrible batsman I can't believe he is the best England have to offer opening ?

on February 12, 2013, 8:17 GMT

"Acclaimed as the returning hero since ending his self-imposed exile, Taylor has so far amassed more ovations than runs."

Well said. It's unthinkable for a side so lacking in mental toughness that fans would consider Taylor for captain after this episode. If this episode was so severe it required time off, one wonders how he got there in the first place.

BRUTALANALYST
on February 12, 2013, 8:10 GMT

Michael Lumb is a world class edgerl how does he do it ? every game all his runs come from inside and outside edges and he always seem to get away with a decision.Have England really got no one better the guy can't play straight he plays down the wrong line every other ball his only shot is a drag to leg or cut and most of the time those come of the edge amazing he's made it to such a high standard.

gsingh7
on February 12, 2013, 7:38 GMT

4.0 0 53 0 nice stats for broad , meanwhile dernbach did great with 3 wickets, this sa import is lot better at odis just like kevin, so england need such blokes to win odi wc for first time.

whofriggincares
on February 12, 2013, 7:35 GMT

McCullum really liked Broad's bowling, not as much as Yuvraj liked Broads bowling but he definitely liked it. Oh and do you think Dernbach has tourettes?

on February 12, 2013, 10:36 GMT

Well played, New Zealand. Both Rutherford & McClenaghan look like outstanding prospects (on this evidence, Rutherford, with an accompanying first-class average of 42, should *definitely* be given a chance to cement a place at the top of the Kiwis' brittle Test batting order), while it was heartening to see those old warhorses McCullum, Butler & Franklin prove that they still have plenty left in the tank. From a purely cricketing perspective, this was an excellent result, as there's now all to play for at Wellington.

It's not *all* doom & gloom for the tourists, either. Even from this calamitous defeat, two plusses emerged for England: due to the early fall of wickets, Jos Buttler was finally given an extended window of opportunity via which to showcase his outrageously inventive talents, while Luke Wright again bowled with commendable guile & efficiency.

Let's hope Wellington's a humdinger. It's all set up beautifully.

whofriggincares
on February 12, 2013, 7:35 GMT

McCullum really liked Broad's bowling, not as much as Yuvraj liked Broads bowling but he definitely liked it. Oh and do you think Dernbach has tourettes?

gsingh7
on February 12, 2013, 7:38 GMT

4.0 0 53 0 nice stats for broad , meanwhile dernbach did great with 3 wickets, this sa import is lot better at odis just like kevin, so england need such blokes to win odi wc for first time.

BRUTALANALYST
on February 12, 2013, 8:10 GMT

Michael Lumb is a world class edgerl how does he do it ? every game all his runs come from inside and outside edges and he always seem to get away with a decision.Have England really got no one better the guy can't play straight he plays down the wrong line every other ball his only shot is a drag to leg or cut and most of the time those come of the edge amazing he's made it to such a high standard.

on February 12, 2013, 8:17 GMT

"Acclaimed as the returning hero since ending his self-imposed exile, Taylor has so far amassed more ovations than runs."

Well said. It's unthinkable for a side so lacking in mental toughness that fans would consider Taylor for captain after this episode. If this episode was so severe it required time off, one wonders how he got there in the first place.

BRUTALANALYST
on February 12, 2013, 8:24 GMT

Lumb cannot hit a clean ball or use a straight blade everything he tries to drag across leg or cut really terrible batsman I can't believe he is the best England have to offer opening ?

JG2704
on February 12, 2013, 8:26 GMT

We (England) look absolutely stuffed in this one. Well batted NZ (in particular BM) and well bowled so far.
One question I would like to put out there.

WHY would a captain choose to bowl first on a beautiful batting surface after coming off a big score when batting first in the previous game?

To me , unless you excel in chasing totals (which England don't) or conditions look good for bowling 1st (as in many of the women's WC game but not here) surely you bat 1st.

BRUTALANALYST
on February 12, 2013, 8:42 GMT

Jos Butler is the only guy in this 11 with any world class potential due to his clean hitting and consistently which the rest of the top 5 don't have. he is also still batting to low for me. Hales has potential but comes off once every 10 games, Bairstow is terrible he will never be good enough for this level I can just see it in his eyes he doesn't have it fills me with no confidence I'd never back him.

btglynn
on February 12, 2013, 9:08 GMT

T20 really is a bore though. Just how many decent games do you get? Batters just slogging across the line. The authorities are flogging it to death.
I suppose it appeals to the crickeet ignorant maasses to a degree and its ok in countries like Oz thaat have a decent climate and people can rock up after work , have a few beers and watch a few sixes go over midwicket. But on a cold June night in Derby , watching 140 being run down in the drizzle and murk? Whats the point/ Bit of income I suppose.

BRUTALANALYST
on February 12, 2013, 9:10 GMT

New Zaelanads new left arm bowlers look very promising they should have Franklin batting higher tho he's wasted coming in with 1 or 2 overs to go he's far more dangerous than Elliot.

BRUTALANALYST
on February 12, 2013, 9:23 GMT

I don't understand why Stuart Broad is captain ? he instills neither confidence or maturity in the side, England should have Butler batting higher and give Morgan the captaincy. Bairstow Lumb and Broad should not be in the side.